Rotary engine.



W. W.. WHEELER. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0(7T.1, 1907.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1 WLW. WHEELER;

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION TILED 0011, 1907.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. W. WHEELER.

ROTARY ENGINE. v

APPLIUATION FILED 00121, 1907.

. 906,759. Patented Dec. 15, 1908. v

4 sums-sum s,

Mhsssaa 1 W. W. WHEELER.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00121, 1907.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

Application filed October 1, 1.907. Serial No. 395,341.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States,residingat Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary engines, and the mainobject of my improvements is efficiency in operation, particularly withreference to better utilizing the expansive force of the steam; to theemployment of a compound rotary engine, and to the special constructionand arrangement of the packing strips. I

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a front elevation of my engine.Fig. 2 is a plan view of a part of my engine. Fig. 3 is a detached sideelevation of one of the end plates, caps, or heads of the smallercylinder, showing one side wall of the intermediate steam chamber orpassage that lies between the smaller and larger cylinders. Fig. 4 is aside elevation or end view of my engine with the caps or heads removedfrom the smaller cylinder and from the valve chamber. Fig. 5 is avertical section of the same on the line it a of Fig. 1, parts of thesteam pipe and the by pass pipe bein shown in elevation. Fig 6 is alongitudina vertical section partly on the line 3 and partly on the line2 of Fig. 4, an end portion of one of the packing strips at the lowerside being shown in side elevation.

' Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portionof the long tooth of one piston,together with one of the peripheral and end packing strips in placetherein. Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing the outer end of one of theend packing strips. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a part of one of theperipheral packing strips, and Fig. 10 is an end view of the saidpacking strip.

A, designates the smaller or primary cylinder and B the larger andsecondary cylinder, the same being concentrically arranged main shaft13, to which it is keyed in any Ordinary manner, as for example, bymeans of the spline 14. The long tooth wipes the inner wall of thecylinder A and is in effect the piston face against which'the steam,gas, or other motive fiuid acts to drive the piston round and round.

The cut-off gear 15 is mounted on a shaft 16 in the sub-cylinder D, in aposition parallel to the main shaft 13. The teeth of the cutofi gear areof uniform length and their ends wipe the inner wall of thesub-cylinder. The space between two of these teeth is made wider and.deeper than the space between the other teeth in order to work inconnection with the long tooth of the piston. In order to insure a tightfit the ends of all of the teeth, excepting the two teeth on each sideof the dee space 28 of the cut-off gear 15, are grooved ongitudinallyand provided with packing strips 17 that extend substantially the wholelength of the cylinders. These strips are shouldered to prevent themfrom moving outwardly too far and are forced outwardly by means ofsprings 18 in substantially the ordinary manner of similar packingstrips in common use. But instead of making the cylinders andsub-cylinders with the ordinary right angular corner, I counter bore theends of these cylinders (as at 26, Fig. 4,) and form the heads or endplates with a projecting rim 19, Fig. 6, that fits the said counterbores of the cylinders and I finish the inner wall of this rim on acurve of about one quarter of a circle to form the rounded corner 20 ofeach cylinder and sub-cylinder. The ends of most of the packing strips17 are correspondingly curved, but in order to allow for longitudinalexpansion of the said strips, I make them a little too short to "fillthe said corner as shown in Fig. 6. The ends of each piston and cut offgear have the bore for their shafts counter bored at each end to receivethe split rings 21, which are formed of resilient metal and which form aseat or yielding abutment for the radially arranged end packing strips22. These end packing strips are to make the pistons and cut-off gearstight at the cylinder ends under various expansion in the longitudinaldirection of the cylinders. They are arranged in radial grooves withsprings 24 to force them outwardly in the longitudinal direction of thecylinders and with other springs 25 between their inner ends and thesplit rings 21 to act in connection with the said split ring for forcingthese end strips outwardly in a radial direction. The inner ends ofthese strips are curved so as to approximately fit the curve of thesplit rings. Their outer ends are shaped to correspond with the shape ofthe teeth and to fit the rounded corner of the cylinders, and alsoslotted to receive the ends of the longitudinal or peripheral packingstrips as shown. It will thus be seen that the longitudinal and endpacking strips coact with each other so as to always make a tight jointat the rounded corners of the cylinders. The longitudinal packing stripsin the short teeth of the pistons do not reach the rounded corners ofthe cylinders and hence it is not necessary to round off the corners.

The right hand end of the main cylinder A v and sub-cylinder D, as shownin Figs. 1 and 2, is covered by a plate-like cap or head 27 which issecured thereon in any proper man ner as for example by bolts or screws.The opposite end of the said cylinder and sub-cyl inder is covered by asimilar cap or head 28. The face of this head 28 which is exterior tothe main cylinder A, is provided with a substan tially annular recess asshown in Figs. 3 and 6, and as indicated by broken lines in Figs. 1 and2 to form one wall of a steam chamber or passage 29 between the main andsecondary cylinders A and B. The adjacent end of the secondary cylinderand its sub-cylinder E is covered by a similar cap or head 30 which isprovided on one face with a like annular recess to form the other wallof the steam chamber 29, and a like cap or head '31 without such annularrecess covers the right hand end of the secondary cylinder and itssub-cylinder.

The main shaft 13 extends through the main and secondary cylinders andtheir several heads as best shown in Fig. 6. The said secondary cylinderis rovided with a piston C C and its sub-cylin er is provided with acut-off gear, the same as for the cylinder and sub-cylinder A and D,only the said cylinders, piston and gear are larger and longer. Thecut-off gear for the sub-cylinder E is mounted on the shaft 44.

On the top of the main cylinder and its sub-cylinder is the valvechamber F having a port 32 that opens into the main cylinder. Within thesaid chamber is a rotary valve 33 of an ordinary construction. The valveis mounted on the valve shaft 34 and connected with the main shaft 13 bymeans of the gear wheels 35, so that the valve and pistons on the mainshaft rotate in unison with each other. The valve chamber is suppliedwith steam through the steam pipe 36 and I prefer to also employ abypass pipe 37 having a cook 38, the said by-pass opening into the maincylinder as shown.

The exhaust 39 for the main cylinder opens into the intermediate steamchamber or passage 29. This chamber is rovided with an opening 40 thatleads into t e secondary cylinder B. The said opening is indicated bybroken lines in Fig. 4, and is opposite the exhaust opening 39. Thefinal exhaust is through the pipe 41 of the secondary cylinder. The maincylinder A is provided with a socket 42 into which a spark plug 43 maybe secured in case the engine is to be driven by an explosive gasinstead of by steam. The main shaft 13 is provided with a driving pulley45.

The valve 33 is so arranged relatively to the piston C as to open oruncover the port 32 and let steam into the cylinder A about the timethat the long tooth 12 passes the said port and to close or cover thesaid port at about one quarter of a revolution thereafter. The enginethen runs by the expansive force of the steam until the long tooth 12 ofthe piston 0 reaches the exhaust port 39 and lets the steam escape. Theshaft 16 has no gear or connection with the piston shaft except thatproidded by the gears of the piston and cut-off gear, so that there isalways a contact of the piston teeth with the cut-off gear which tendsto keep them tightly closed against each other. The packing strips 17project slightly so as to make a tight joint between the ends of thecut-off gear and w wall of the sub-cylinder while the said strips in thepiston make a tight joint between the ends of the piston teeth andspaces between the teeth of the cut-off gear. The packing strip in thelong tooth 12 also acts to make a tight joint between the end of thattooth and I the wall of the main cylinder A. It should be noted that thepiston has only one long tooth whereby I am enabled to employ a rotarycut-off valve and the said piston can be overlap, each other so as toalways close the V corners of the cylinders and this is perfected andinsured by providing the cylinders with the rounded corners.

The steam passes from the exhaust port 39 of the cylinder A into theintermediate steam chamber or assage 29, and then moving to thediagonally op osite side of the cylinders enters the seconc ary cylindernear the top through the port or opening 40. The two istons are soplaced on the shaft 13 that the ong tooth of the cylinder CC is at thebottom when the long tooth of the cylinder 0 is at the top, as shown inFig. 6, and consequently the main piston O is about ready to exhaust andlet in steam through the inter mediate chamber and port 40 into the toof the secondary cylinder as the long toot of the piston CC passes thesaid port 40, thus that closes the port 32, then the cock 38 of theby-pass pipe 37 may be opened to let in steam for starting the engine.If the piston C should be stopped with its long tooth between theexhaust port 39 and the delivery end of the by-pass pipe, then the steamwould rush through the main cylinder A through the intermediate chamber29 and port 40 into the secondary cylinder, the piston for which willthen be in a position to have its long tooth between the port 40 and thefinal exhaust 41 so that the engine would be started through thesecondary piston and cylinder. After the engine is started the bypasscock may be closed. Both of the pistons are keyed to the shaft 13 bymeans of a spline 14 so as to rotate with the said shaft, and thecut-off gears are mounted in the same way. I refer to have these pistonsand gears fitted loosely enough on the shaft and splines so as to moveslightly thereon in the longitudinal direction of the shaft to allow forexpansion of the metal and prevent these pistons and gears from bearingagainst their cylinders at one end harder than they do at the other end.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a rotary engine of the gear type, the combination of a cylinderand sub-cylinder with a cut-off gear having teeth of uniform length forwiping the wall of the sub-cylinder, the said cut-off gear also having adeep s ace between two of the said teeth and siallower spaces betweenthe other teeth, a piston having a series of teeth one of which is of alength for wiping the wall of the said cylinder and the said deep spaceof the said cut-off gear and the other of which teeth are short forcoacting with the shallower spaces of the said cut-off gear, radiallyarranged packin 7 strips let into and projecting beyond the ends of theiston and extending from near the center 0 the piston to the outer endsof its teeth for bearing on the inner end walls of the cylinder, andlongitudinally arranged acking strips extending throughout the l engthof the said teeth at their outer ends. 2. In a rotary engine, thecombination of a cylinder having end walls with a rotary piston mountedtherein, a set of radially arranged acking strips mounted in one end ofthe said piston, a like set of packing strips mounted in the op ositeend thereof, springs for forcing the said strips laterally outwards inbearing contact with the walls at the o posite ends of the saidcylinder, and a resi ient split ring let into the opposite ends of thesaid piston for forcing the strips of each set longitudinally outwards,the mner ends of the said packing stri s being seated on the peripheriesof the sai split rings.

3. In a rotary engine of the gear type, the combination of a cylinderand sub-cylinder having end plates with a piston and cut-off gear, thesaid piston having a long tooth, a secondary cylinder having end plates,a subcylinder, piston and cut-ofi gear, a main shaft extendinglongitudinally through the said two cylinders with the said two istonsmounted thereon, the long teeth of t e said two pistons projecting inopposite directions from the said shaft, the end plates intermediate thesaid two cylinders having in their confronting faces a steam passageleading from a port in the end plate of the said cy inder into a ortopening into the said secondary cylin er.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having an innerrounded corner at each end with a rotary piston mounted in saidcylinder, a radially arranged end packing strip let into the ends of theiston for bearing on the end walls of the cylinder, and a longitudinalpacking strip for bearing on the main wall of the said cylinder, thesaid strips overlapping each other and both being rounded at t eircorners in conformity to the rounded corners of the cylinder.

WILLIAM W. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, JOHN Q. THAYER, FRANK L. BROWN

